Why are my name and address displayed?

Last Updated: Jul 26, 2017 11:15AM PDT

When you joined Nextdoor, you may have noticed that your full name and address are shared with your immediate neighbors. While we know this amount of transparency online is uncommon, we believe it’s important for two reasons:

1. Nextdoor wants to create more than just an online community.

Nextdoor is fundamentally a different kind of social network. We want to encourage more face to face conversations between neighbors rather than replacing them. And unlike many of the social media platforms we’re all used to, Nextdoor is private and local. You join a private community made up of just your neighbors. These are the neighbors you meet in real life—in the park or at local council meetings.

Just as you would introduce yourself in person by letting a neighbor know where in the neighborhood you live, Nextdoor is designed to closely mirror these actual encounters with your neighbors. We share the basic information—your name and address—that serve as the building blocks for neighborly relationships. We want the relationships you start on Nextdoor to continue in real life.

Meanwhile, it’s important to remember that content on Nextdoor is not public. Your posts are only visible to your neighborhood (and the Nearby Neighborhoods you select). And no information about your address is ever displayed to anyone outside of your own neighborhood.

2. Community requires accountability.

By sharing your full name and address with your neighbors, we’re also establishing accountability as a fundamental part of the interactions you have with your neighbors online.

We believe neighbors should only post messages on Nextdoor they’d be comfortable standing behind in real life. We’ve found that when members keep in mind they’re talking with their real life neighbors, they’re more likely to treat each other with respect.

Privacy tools:

While we want to encourage real world connections between neighbors, we also want to make sure that you have the ability to choose the experience on Nextdoor that is right for you. Here are a few things to keep in mind about Nextdoor’s privacy tools and settings: